Sustainable development goals everyone’s business

He was speaking at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre at the launch of the mainstreaming, acceleration and policy support (MAPS) UN mission to Trinidad and Tobago. The mission is here to assist the Government with mainstreaming the SDG’s into its own national development agenda - VISION 2030.

Minister of Planning and Development Camille Robinson-Regis said the launch of the MAPS signals the beginning of this country’s discussion on the development of an appropriate roadmap for implementation of the Government’s 2030 sustainable development plan. The mission will continue until Tuesday with bi-lateral meetings and stakeholder consultations being held in Tobago on Monday.

Robinson-Regis said the major objective of the exercise is to engage Government, national stakeholder groups comprising NGOs, the business sector, civil society groups, environmental groups, academia, development partners, the media and a UN team over a seven-day period in an exchange of ideas and to share experiences.

She said she plans to lay the strategy in Parliament on Friday.

Blewitt said over the past year the UN had supported the Government in advancing the achievement of the SDGs including organising a national dialogue on mainstreaming the SDGs into national development led by the UNDP with the help of other UN agencies as well as supporting the Government on data challenges of the SDGs. Blewitt said the mission will allow the ministry to validate the findings and identify gaps in the work done by the UN team based on a desk review of the draft Vision 2030 plan, plans of line ministries and comprehensive economic development plans for Tobago. He said the mission will also explore financing options for implementation of the SDGs and include consultation and guidance on prioritisation, ownership and coordination around the goals and targets and brainstorming around the strengthening of statistical foundations.